Explorer Finds Massive Epithermal Gold Potential on Japanese Noto Peninsula

1. Irving Resources Corp. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$3,000 and US$6,000.
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1. Ownership and Share Structure Information

The information listed above was updated on the date this article was published and was compiled from information from the company and various other data providers.

Irving Resources Inc. (IRV:CSE; IRVRF:OTCQX) provided an update on its epithermal gold-silver holdings on the Noto Peninsula, Honshu, Japan in a release on December 11.

The company stated that its 99 prospecting licenses in Noto, covering 337.37 square kilometers, include four distinct potential target areas showing anomalies in stream sediment gold, silver, arsenic, antimony, mercury, and/or copper. Once granted, these licenses would make Irving the largest holder of prospecting licenses in the Noto region.

The Noto Project is a joint effort involving Newmont Overseas Exploration Limited ("Newmont"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newmont Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation ("Sumitomo"), and Irving. The initial stakes in the joint venture are Newmont at 60%, Sumitomo at 12.5%, and Irving at 27.5%.

"During the latter half of 2020, Irving conducted stream sediment (BLEG) surveys over much of the Noto Peninsula, a region with geologic similarities to nearby Sado Island, host to the famous high-grade gold mine, Sado Kinzan (Mitsubishi Material Corporation)," the release noted. "Gold was discovered at Sado Kinzan in 1601 and was mined continuously for 388 years, making it one of the longest lived gold mines on earth with recorded production of 2.51 million oz Au (gold) and 74 million oz Ag (silver)."

The veins at Sado Kinzan are classified as epithermal, were productive over vertical distances of several hundred meters, and exhibit unusually high copper values. Beyond the Sado Kinzan-type veins, Irving sees potential for other styles of gold mineralization on the Noto Peninsula, including intrusion-related types, the company said.

Although Irving's initial exploration efforts at Noto were hindered by restrictions during the COVID pandemic and later by the significant earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula in 2024, the company has gradually ramped up its activities at Noto starting in June 2024, implementing systematic rock and soil sampling programs.

To date, 106 surface rock chip samples and 528 surface soil samples have been collected to follow up on the regional BLEG results. A conventional ridge and spur soil sampling technique was applied to priority target areas. Forty soil ridgelines were traversed and sampled at 100-meter intervals.

The targeted areas include: 1) Southwest Noto (Shika), 2) Central Noto (Wajima, Wajima South, and Mii), and 3) Northeast Noto (Najimi), the company said.

Update on Farm-In Agreement at Omu Project

On December 15, the company shared further news, providing an update on the first year of collaboration with JX Advanced Metals Corp. at Irving’s Omu Project in Hokkaido, Japan.

Irving and JX Metals entered into a farm-in agreement that allows JX Metals to earn a 75% stake in the Omu Sinter Pit, which covers 1.962 square kilometers and reaches a depth of approximately 50 meters below sea level. Under the option agreement, JX Metals may also acquire an interest in Omuisenbu, spanning 0.127 square kilometers. The exact percentage of interest in Omuisenbu will be determined based on a calculation outlined in the option agreement, taking into account an evaluation of Omuisenbu. However, JX Metals' interest will not exceed 75%.

Irving retains complete control over the remainder of the Omui Mining License and the entire Omu Project, it stated.

To exercise the option to earn an interest in Omu Sinter Pit and Omuisenbu, JX Metals must invest at least 300,000,000 yen in exploration and property-related expenditures over three years, with the possibility of extension under certain conditions. During this period, JX Metals has the exclusive right to conduct exploration at Omu Sinter Pit and Omuisenbu. Irving serves as the operator under the Option Agreement, guided by JX Metals. The Option Agreement has now entered its second year, with JX Metals having met the first-year requirements.

"Since acquiring its first land position at its Omu project, Hokkaido, in 2016, Irving has pursued a clear vision of discovering significant precious metal-bearing silica deposits suitable for use as smelter flux," Irving stated in the second release. "To date, Irving has made discoveries of such deposits at the Omui Mining License and at Omu Sinter."

Following the agreement with JX Metals, Irving drilled a strategically placed diamond drill hole, 24OMI-001, at the Omui Mining License, the company reported. This first-ever shallow angle diamond core hole at this target revealed an impressive 101.1-meter-wide intercept of shallow, silicified rocks grading 1.14 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au), 16 g/t silver (Ag), and 84% silica.

To build on this promising initial hole, JX Metals and Irving completed four additional shallow holes in 2025, expanding upon the discovery of shallow gold- and silver-bearing silicified rock at the Omui Mining License, the release noted. All four holes encountered broad, shallow mineralized intercepts. Together, the five shallow holes drilled at the Omui Mining License outline a north-south mineralized corridor approximately 200 meters long, with mineralization open to the north and south. Notably, a 2-meter-wide high gold zone was identified, showing 24.22 g/t Au and 173.40 g/t Ag.

In hole 25OMI-002, a significant high-grade gold zone was encountered. Irving stated it regards the assay results from its low-angle drilling program as highly favorable. At Omu Sinter, as part of a civil engineering groundwater survey and rock strength drill program, a shallow, vertical diamond drill hole, 25OMS-001, was completed, revealing a 41.81-meter-thick high-silica gold-silver intercept. The silica content averages an impressive 96.6%, with gold and silver grades at 0.54 g/t and 8.7 g/t, respectively.

This hole confirms the strong continuity of Omu Sinter, a shallow, flat horizon of silica deposited by ancient hot spring fluids. The water table was observed at a drilling depth of 30 meters, or 9 meters above sea level, and the aquifer was interpreted to lie at the basal fractured zone, the company noted. This suggests that most of this deposit is located above the water table. Additional drilling is underway at Omu Sinter to further assess the groundwater level as well as the continuity and extensions of this significant, shallow deposit. Irving and JX Metals are currently planning the next steps to advance Omu Sinter Pit and Omuisenbu toward becoming a new key source of smelter flux in Japan.

Newsletter Author: 'Excellent News' From Omui

On October 31, Chen Lin, the newsletter writer behind "What's Chen Buying? What's Chen Selling?", offered a positive assessment of the recent drilling results from the Omui target. He remarked, "IRV.cn released excellent news from Omui. Remember the Omui project is in the process of permitting with Japan's largest smelter. Every gold discovered there means a lot of extra profits into the bottom line as the smelter is looking for silica."

Chen emphasized the significance of the grades found in several holes, stating, "There is high-grade gold in multiple holes. 2 meter of 24g/t gold and 173 g/t silver in hole 002 and 2.3 meter of 5.1g/t gold and 61g/ton silver in 003. It seems they hit high grades in most of the holes, this is quite impressive."

He concluded by discussing the broader implications of the company’s permitting process, noting, "They are working on a mining license with its partner, Japan's largest smelter. Once they start mining, this gold will generate very good free cash flow."

The Catalyst: Silver Joins the Party

The silver market has seen a slight rise in the early hours of Monday as we approach the US$65 mark, Christopher Lewis wrote for FX Empire on December 15.

He noted that Friday was exceptionally volatile and, as a result, quite risky. In fact, it was one of the highest volume days observed in the market since the pullback in mid-October.

"With that being the case, I think we are going to see a bit of a fight at the US$65 level, but it’ll be interesting to see whether or not the bears can actually take control," Lewis wrote. "I certainly wouldn’t be short of this market anytime soon."

At this stage, it seems likely that the strategy is to buy on dips, he said. The US$60 level should act as support, and the overall momentum in this market is quite remarkable. It's challenging to go against that. While a stronger U.S. dollar could negatively impact silver, at the moment, silver seems to be in its own realm, with narratives about a shortage of physical supply finally affecting the market.

This is somewhat ironic because, in his 20 years of experience, he said this has always been the issue. The demand for silver has consistently outpaced actual production. This situation, he said, is partly driven by artificial intelligence narratives and also by the fact that we broke the US$50 level, leading to attempts to short-squeeze the market.

"This will end poorly. I can pretty much guarantee that," he said. "I just don’t know when, and therefore, you have to remain somewhat cautious. You don’t want to throw your entire account into this market just to find it down 7% plus leverage over the course of an hour, which is exactly the kind of thing silver can do. Short-term dips continue to be buying opportunities at this point, but with a little bit of money management thrown in there."

Silver climbed for the fourth consecutive day, driven by inflows into exchange-traded funds, momentum trading, and a tight physical market, pushing the metal toward its best year since 1979, as reported by Bloomberg and published by Mining.com on December 12. The precious metal reached a new peak, exceeding US$64 an ounce on Friday morning, with prices showing considerable volatility. Silver rose about 10% last week, supported by dovish signals from the Federal Reserve, which enacted an expected rate cut and pointed to signs of a weakening U.S. labor market, according to the report. Lower interest rates tend to benefit non-yielding precious metals like silver.

Most analysts observed that the scale of the increase was difficult to attribute to a single cause. Price hikes in silver can sometimes lead to further gains, as retail investors and momentum traders are drawn to the metal's notorious volatility, Bloomberg noted.

"Until the lights come on, silver continues to stage an increasingly risky blow-off top," Daniel Ghali of TD Securities noted in a report on Thursday, as cited by Bloomberg. "We expect no tariffs on silver to reignite liquidity dynamics in favor of sharply lower prices."

Ownership and Share Structure¹

Management and directors hold about 9.3% of Irving, while strategic investors Newmont and Sumitomo own 17.63% and 4.78%, respectively. Approximately 1% is held by institutions, with the remainder owned by retail investors.

Key insiders include President and Chief Executive Officer Akiko Levinson, who holds 4.88%, and Hennigh, who owns 3.1%.

Irving Resources Inc. has a market capitalization of CA$20.84 million and roughly 83.36 million shares outstanding. The company's 52-week trading range is between CA$0.15 and CA$0.35.